Bird & Bird
A guide to the law firm Bird & Bird: what it’s best known for, recent work highlights, what it pays, and its revenue and profitability.
Last updated:
December 10, 2024
A guide to the law firm Bird & Bird: what it’s best known for, recent work highlights, what it pays, and its revenue and profitability.
Bird & Bird is a large international law firm based in London.
Also known as ‘Two Birds’ in the industry, the firm is renowned as an IP, technology and media specialist (it was considered the UK’s first technology, media and telecoms (TMT) specialist), with less of a focus on the corporate and finance work of many City rivals.
Bird & Bird has a storied history that stretches back to the mid-19th century. Formally established in 1846 by two solicitors, the firm became known as Bird & Bird when a cousin of one of the founding partners joined what was already one of London’s leading law firms in 1901.
At the time, the firm was already renowned for its intellectual property work. It won its first patent case in 1901.
Throughout the 20th century, Bird & Bird expanded its expertise beyond intellectual property to encompass a broader range of legal services, including commercial, dispute resolution, corporate, and finance law. This diversification was part of a strategic vision to cater to the evolving needs of clients, particularly in technology and media.
The 1990s and early 2000s marked a period of significant international expansion for Bird & Bird.
Recognising the importance of offering cross-border advice, the firm embarked on a series of mergers and partnerships that extended its footprint beyond the UK. In the 2000s, it opened offices in France, Sweden, The Netherlands and Germany, among others.
Mergers included 2008 combinations with a leading Finnish firm and with London firm Lane & Partners, and a tie-up with leading Australian firm Truman Hoyle in 2014.
Today, Bird & Bird boasts over 30 offices across Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and North America. It has more than 1,400 lawyers, including 300+ partners.
While it is primarily known for its IP and technology practice, Bird & Bird is also known for its strengths in dispute resolution, and mid-market Corporate/M&A and banking and finance.
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Recent deal and industry highlights for Bird & Bird include:
Bitcoin Inventor Case: In March 2024, in a high-profile case Bird & Bird acted for the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) in successfully defending claims brought by computer scientist Dr Craig Wright who claimed to be ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’, the pseudonymous inventor of Bitcoin.
Getty Images V Stability AI: In a ‘seminal’ AI case, Bird & Bird advised Stability AI, the creator of AI art tool Stable Diffusion, in its defence against claims by Getty Images for copyright infringement. Getty alleged that Stability AI used its copyrighted library of images to train Stable Diffusion.
TMT Team of the Year: Bird & Bird won ‘TMT Team of the Year’ at the British Legal Awards 2023. The TMT team was awarded for its work advising Allwyn on one of the largest public sector contracts in the UK, winning the fourth National Lottery Competition with the prize of operating the UK’s National Lottery.
Growth Ambitions: In February 2024, Bird & Bird’s CEO Christian Bartsch said that the firm has a target to achieve €1 billion in revenue within five years. Bartsch said the plan is the first of its kind for the firm and came about after over 40 workshops across the firm’s offices worldwide.
Bird & Bird is a full service corporate law firm. Its clients include companies, financial institutions, and governments. It’s particularly known for its strengths in the following areas:
Intellectual Property: Bird & Bird has the most highly regarded IP practice of any UK law firm. It describes its IP practice as ‘full service’, advising on patents, copyright, trademarks, designs, and IP-rich transactions. The firm is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers for IP work.
Telecommunications: Bird & Bird has over 400 dedicated technology and communications lawyers, advising on contentious and non-contentious regulatory and transactional issues for telecommunications clients. It is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers for telecommunications work.
Banking and Finance: Bird & Bird has a well-regarded banking and finance practice, which is noted for its lender-side advice on mid-market deals. The firm is ranked in Band 2 by Chambers for its advice to lenders on mid-market deals.
We use Chambers rankings to demonstrate a firm's strengths. Chambers is the most highly-regarded provider of law firm rankings in the legal industry. Law firms are ranked in bands from 1 (highest) to 6 (lowest) across a range of practice areas.
It's important to note that being ranked in any band at all is still considered a significant achievement.
Bird & Bird is a leading 'mid-market' firm with a stand-out IP practice. More generally, its main competitors include the likes of Fieldfisher, Osborne Clarke and Taylor Wessing.
Here’s what Bird & Bird pays its London trainees and newly qualified (NQ) lawyers:
Trainee First Year: £47,000
Trainee Second Year: £52,000
Newly Qualified (NQ): £98,000
We have a list of salaries paid by all of the UK’s top law firms here.
Bird & Bird is the 17th biggest law firm in the UK by revenue. In 2023, its revenue was £495 million (this is converted from EUR as Bird & Bird reports its financials in EUR).
In 2023, its profit per equity partner (PEP) was £669,000.
In 2023, Bird & Bird’s average profit per equity partner (PEP) was £669,000.
This is the total amount of profit available for distribution among equity partners, divided by the number of equity partners at the firm.
This represents the average amount that equity partners are entitled to. Some will receive significantly more, some less. It depends on the firm’s profit-sharing formula and each partner’s seniority.
Bird & Bird takes up to 18 trainees each year in the UK.
Trainees complete four seats in different departments, each lasting six months.
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